FDA approves human trial for treatment to cure HIV (opens in new tab)

(washingtonblade.com)

46 pointsstevefink5y ago16 comments

16 comments

> the T-cell samples extracted through that process will be sent to a lab, where they will be genetically altered in a process developed by AGT. He said AGT believes the genetically altered T-cells will make them resistant to HIV infection and enable them to do what HIV has prevented human T-cells from doing during the course of the 40-year plus HIV epidemic – to neutralize the virus and prevent it from harming the human body.

So you'll still have the virus, and be able to give it to others, but your immune system won't be compromised?

Zanni5y ago

That's now how I read it. The treatment allows T-cells to do what they'd normally do to any other infection. And, from the first paragraph, should "enable the immune system of people who are HIV positive to permanently eliminate HIV from their body."

tinus_hn5y ago

How can a person infect someone with HIV when it has been eliminated from his body?

takeda5y ago

Not in a medical field, but my understanding is that virus on its own is harmless (just a combination of RNA, proteins and fat), it needs cells to replicate. So if it can't infect them it won't produce copies and won't spread either.

j-pb5y ago

The T-Cells will probably also attack infected T-Cells.

The immune system is super complex and self regulatory, with different Immune cell populations attacking each other in case of auto immune disease for example.

rikroots5y ago

I'm not going to get too excited about this.

"Brain cells can harbor and spread HIV virus to the body" - https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/brain-cells-ca... (June 2020)

barbacoa5y ago

At $200k for treatment I don't see insurance companies covering this.

vertis5y ago

Thankfully, the US isn't the only country in the world, and large chunks of the world have socialized medicine.

davidhyde5y ago

That number is just a little bit of sensationalist journalism, intentional or not. It is reasonable to assume that this is a very manual process right now so that things can be changed easily. Dna sequencing cost $2.4m in the early 90s using the Sanger Sequencing method but today it costs $100 (using a different but as accurate method) because of automation. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_sequencing

rasz5y ago

Looks like original research required 4 years for FDA approval:

https://southpark.fandom.com/wiki/Cure_for_AIDS

https://southpark.cc.com/clips/164373/they-found-a-cure-for-...

"about $180,000 shot directly into the bloodstream"

gruez5y ago

Isnt it still cheaper than a lifetime of HIV meds?

phone86753095y ago

For who?

The patient? Probably.

The insurance company? No. They make a profit with every transaction, so the smart money is treating chronic conditions, not curing them.

2 more replies

randcraw5y ago

Has this been tested in animals? I see no mention of this.

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